Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Hard to believe that Rudy Vallee was one of the most popular singers out there before Bing Crosby jumped onto the scene in the early 1930s. Vallee did not have a great voice, but he had a way with a song. He also had a very enjoyable band as well. He was quite the rage in the late 1920s...

Here is a clip of one of my all-time favorite Bobby Darin songs "Artificial Flowers". This version seems a little bit slower than the commercial recording that I have. This version is taken from a Darin television special...

Monday, June 28, 2010

"Rhapsody In Blue" does not have lyrics but it is a supreme masterpiece. Here's an abridged version of the George Gershwin masterpiece composed for Paul Whiteman in 1924, from THE KING OF JAZZ(1930).

The segment opens with a completely unrelated "Voodoo Dance" from Africa, followed by the opening clarinet solo danced by Jacques Cartier, and then Roy Bargy playing the piano solo. I challenge anyone not to be moved by the song "Rhapsody In Blue"...

Sunday, June 20, 2010

I only recently got a chance to see the classic comedy HARVEY(1950), which starred Jimmy Stewart. The movie is as charming sixty years later as it was when it first came out in 1950. They don't make movies like this anymore...

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Cary Grant is often called one of the greatest actors of all-time, and I would agree. However, other than winning an "honorary oscar", he never won an Academy Award for acting. From the 1930s thru the 1960s, Cary Grant was Hollywood...

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Here is another favorite song of mine. The song "Pennies From Heaven" was introduced by Bing Crosby in the movie of the same name in 1936. It was a favorite song of my grandfather's, and it summed up his philosophy being raised during the Great Depression. It was a great song for Bing and other singers who sang the song...

Monday, June 14, 2010

Country singing star Jimmy Dean passed away at the age of 81. He is more widely known for his Jimmy Dean sausage now than his singing, but he scored a huge hit with the song "Big Bad John". My grandfather was a huge fan of Jimmy Dean, and he had a ton of his albums. The entertainment world and the sausage world mourn the loss...

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Dame Vera Lynn is unquestionably the greatest vocalist that Great Britain has ever produced. She was the sweetheart of World War II, and her singing is nearly perfect. She did not make many movies, but here are some great moments with Dame Vera Lynn...

Here is the ever unusual Ethel Merman singing a forgotten Irving Berlin song called "The International Rag". The song was written even before some of our grandparents were born. The clip is from the Ethel Merman movie CALL ME MADAM(1953)...

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Here is the first big musical number from THE BAND WAGON(1953)with Fred Astaire. Many critics consider this movie one of Astaire's best. When you listen to this number "A Shine On Your Shoes" it is hard to be depressed...

Here is an earlier Alfred Hitchcock movie, but one of his best. The movie centers around a mysterious uncle played by Joseph Cotten, and his niece (Teresa Wright) that uncovers the truth about him. The suspense and the thrills are great. The movie came out in 1943, but sixty plus years later, it is still great...

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Lou Costello was one of the greatest funny men of all-time. Together with Bud Abbott, Lou made people laugh in countless films of the 1940s and 1950s. For all the laughs he gave his audience, his life was not the happiest. However, Lou Costello was truly one of the greats of comedies, which these clips show...

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Here is a great. musical number from the genius Harry James and his Orchestra. This is from the 1942 film PRIVATE BUCKAROO. Listen to this great trumpet work as James and the orchestra perform "Concerto For Trumpet"...